File under "Ass"...

[RAD]

Roberto--

Just chiming in here to stir up the mud some more. As usual, your post is interesting and provocative. However, there's a flaw in your logic when you state that "...if what you said was true (and it would be just like saying "People always prefer Johan Lee Hooker to the Backstreet Boys") then the market would be flooded with earthy, funky, actual wine and not thousands of labels of acid manipulated, one dimensional merlot..."

The assumption (a fallacious one) upon which this thesis rests is that the consumer en masse is an educated one, and knows what he or she likes. On the contrary: most people know zilch about wine, and buy for a myriad of reasons having nothing to do with taste (another's recommedation, pretty label, price).

Could it be, instead, that a majority of producers are unconcerned about high quality, and are "under the influence" of the herd instinct du jour?

RAD